Huge Plastic Building

is "relevance of the Lyme disease vaccine approaches zero"

whether animals can suffer from Lyme disease, is highly uncertain. Equally uncertain consequently, the benefits of vaccination for dogs.

horses seem to have few problems with Borrelia. Experiments with artificial infection of ponies had no disease symptoms. Even cats can seem cold, the bacteria. Although up to one third of positive animals in the antibody test are, therefore, had proven contact with Lyme disease, diseases in cats in the medical literature are virtually unknown. In dogs has been shown in some animal experiments that it is possible to trigger on the artificial infection with Lyme arthritis. Whether this is of practical importance, no one knows for sure, especially since in other studies no health effects were observed. Dogs in polluted areas have also so many ticks that Lyme disease infections are more the rule than the exception.

One of the most careful work on this issue was recently published by veterinarians at the University of Zurich. The vets wanted to examine whether the known vulnerability of Bernese Mountain Dogs on kidney and joint problems may have something to do with disease, especially since these animals seem to act like magnets for ticks. But 160 of these massive breed animals were compared with 62 control dogs. Actually showed a huge infestation of the Bernese Mountain Dogs with Lyme disease. In their 58 percent responded positively to the test, compared to only 15 percent in the control group. Almost three years later, the animals again were investigated. Eleven of the mountain dogs had now developed a kidney weakness in the comparison group is not a single one. With the disease status that had just as little to do with how the symptoms of lameness. The test-positive animals had neither the herdsmen, nor in the control dogs at higher risk. It would, therefore, the final of the Swiss veterinarians, be a specific problem of these highly cultured race.
whether vaccination of dogs against Lyme disease makes sense is controversial for years. By the Austrian Chamber of Veterinarians, the syringe, which costs about 30 €, as a precaution against the "most chronic Infektionskrankhiet that is difficult to diagnose, highly recommended: twice for basic immunization and then every year to refresh.
"The relevance of the vaccine goes to zero", whereas Michael Leschnik judging from the Veterinary University in Vienna. This is due to the fact that Borrelia of type "burgdorferi" While in the U.S., where the vaccine was developed, are widely used in Europe but just this sort come to 10 percent. The rest of the infections share Borrelia is the type "afzelii" and "garinii. "The fact that vaccination against these types of acts, is a claim of the manufacturer, for which the evidence is so far not been provided," says Leschnik.
As these bacteria is to cope effectively know the immune system of birds, which kills the "afzelii" type immediately. Similar procedures with rodents' garinii. Conversely, however afzelii garinii tolerated by rodents and the birds very well. Neither they become ill, nor do they fight the infection. And if they use ticks in their blood, they will bring with it the borrelia to the people. Results of that whatsoever.

deceive
camouflage and

Especially their low aggressiveness helps the microorganism, the immune system - often for months or years - to escape.

Photo: G. Stanek / Med Univ. Vienna

belong to the Borrelia spirochete, a group of screw-shaped, actively motile bacteria that are usually not dangerous for humans. Exceptions are just the Borrelia that can cause Lyme disease in addition to also various forms of relapsing fever, and the closely related species of Treponema, the causative agent of syphilis.
ticks transmit Lyme disease from their reservoir hosts - such as rats, mice or birds - any other organism, and thus constitute by far its most important vehicle for dissemination. In this respect, the spirochetes have in the course of evolution perfectly to the ticks. If a Borrelia mouse infected bitten by a tick is so received the spirochetes through the saliva of the tick, a signal and move in the sequence in the circulation of the mouse active at the injection site to allow the absorption of the tick. They are like their gateway to the world, the tick gut their ideal reservoir in which they overwinter.
If the tick finds a new host and stings, the Borrelia be activated. They flow to the salivary glands dauraufhin where they bind certain substances that help them later, aggressive cells of the immune system to ward off a short time. Such prepared they flow through the branch channel of the tick in their new host.

Because this process takes several hours, is the best protection against infection, the timely removal of the tick. If a tick is discovered within eight hours, the risk of transmission of Lyme disease is low.

Borrelia are usually not aggressive. They share an extremely slow and not attack the institutions, but prefer to hide in the connective tissue. Especially in this nondescript way of life but is also, paradoxically, their danger. For if the immune system after months or years but is aware of it, it picks up the large area of the Borrelia populated area. And that's good then - depending on where the spirochetes had hidden - apparent in those affected as acute arthritis or nerve palsy.

These two articles appeared in the edition of 23 August 2010 in the context of the story "The disease boom" in the news magazine profil .